Apr 25 8 Steps To Planning Your Wedding

1 | Talk About Money – The first thing you need to do when planning a wedding is decide exactly how much your budget is. It’s important to think about not only what you can afford, but also what you want to spend. Many couples now have other commitments or things going on that may mean their financial focus is split. You may want the wedding of your dreams but also be saving for a house deposit, want to have children, travel or have other plans for your money.

Talk to family at this point. Parents often want to contribute either financially or by purchasing/making an item such as the dress or cake. By knowing exactly what you have to work with it will reduce stress and help you to be clear about exactly what you want to achieve.

Wedding Sign | Emily K Weddings

2 | Want That Wedding? – Both you and your partner may have ideas about what type of wedding celebration you would like. It’s really important that you are both on the same page and working towards the same goal when planning your wedding. This is achieved by talking to each other. It’s a good idea to get out the sugarpaper and write down your ideas so you can see on paper exactly what you want. Prioritise, what is a ‘must have’ when it comes to your wedding and what things would you like if possible, but that you won’t be too upset if the budget won’t stretch that far. That way you won’t be trying to do everything but will have a key focus.

It’s also a good idea at this point to talk about whether you want a specific theme, styling or feel to the day and how this is going to be achieved.

3 | Research, Research, Research – It is a huge wedding world out there and can often be confusing. The key is to know what you want and to research different options so you know exactly what is possible, what is out there and how much it will cost. Google, Pinterest and Etsy will become your new best friends!

4 | Get Organised – Being organised is so important throughout your wedding planning journey. Whether it is keeping track of invoices, or sorting your possible wedding venues into ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘maybe’s, being organised will help to keep stress to a minimum and mean that you always know what is happening. It will also mean that there won’t be any nasty surprises on the run up to or even on the day of your wedding.

Depending on how you work, you may want to buy a diary or folder (there are lots of super stylish organisers out there) and post-it note everything or you may prefer to work using spreadsheets, folders on your desktop and email. It is a good idea to keep a ‘to do’ list of daily, weekly and monthly tasks to keep you on track and make sure that everything is done in good time so you can enjoy the run up to your wedding. There is no right way, just do what works for you.

5 | Set A Date – Once you have researched and organised you will have hopefully found a venue that works for you which means **drum roll please*** - it’s time to set a date – eeeek! Before confirming with your venue it is a good idea to check that key family members and friends will be available for the date you have in mind and won’t be away on holiday etc.

6 | Book The Big Things – Now you have a place and a date, things are starting to get exciting. You should be looking to book the bigger items/services that you’ll need for your wedding well in advance as they can get booked up quickly. Meet with photographers, book appointments to try on wedding dresses, think about food/drink and entertainment and organise your wedding stationery. As with all suppliers for your wedding, research really is key. Don’t just book someone after their first email, really look at their website, social media, read reviews, ask friends and family for recommendations and meet with suppliers where possible. You will be paying a lot of money to have the wedding day you want so make sure that you have people involved who will create the celebration that you have both envisaged.

7 | Book Everything Else – Once you have big items and services booked, start to think about all the other details that will make the day unique to you. Writing out a list of what you would like makes it easier so you can check off things that you have done and know what else you still have to source. Remember, we have lots of fabulous suppliers in our Directory so it’s a great place to start!

8 | Enjoy It – Wedding planning can be stressful but if you keep organised and give yourself enough time, you should be able to enjoy every element of the planning experience. Whether it be going for menu tastings, attending dress fittings, designing your wedding stationery, shopping for table decorations, it is all a wonderful and unique time, one which you won’t experience again, so make the most of it!